Tyrian purple — (Greek: polytonic|πορφύρα, porphyra , Latin: purpura ), also known as royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a purple red dye which was first produced by the ancient Phoenicians in the city of Tyre.Tyrian purple was expensive: the… … Wikipedia
Tyrian purple — or Tyrian dye n. 1. a natural purple dye originally extracted from the glands of snails (family Muricidae) by the ancient Phoenicians of Tyre: widely used in the ancient and classical world in the dyeing of cloth 2. bluish red … English World dictionary
Tyrian purple — 1. noun a) A deep purple dyestuff obtained from the bodies of mollusks of the genus Murex b) A deep purple colour, tinted with red, like that of the dye. 2. adjective Of a deep purple colour, tinted with red, like that of the dye. See Also: Tyre … Wiktionary
Tyrian purple — 1. Also called Tyrian dye. a highly prized crimson or purple dye of classical antiquity, originally obtained at great expense from a certain shellfish: later shown to be an indigo derivative and synthetically produced, and now replaced by other… … Universalium
Tyrian purple — /ˌtɪriən ˈpɜpəl/ (say .tireeuhn perpuhl) noun a highly prized purple dye of classical antiquity, originally obtained at great expense from a certain shellfish. It was later shown to be an indigo derivative and synthesised, and it has been… …
Tyrian purple — noun 1. a red purple to deep purple dye obtained from snails or made synthetically • Hypernyms: ↑dye, ↑dyestuff 2. a vivid purplish red color • Hypernyms: ↑reddish purple, ↑royal purple … Useful english dictionary
Tyrian purple — noun Etymology: Tyre, maritime city of ancient Phoenicia Date: circa 1586 a crimson or purple dye that is related to indigo, was obtained by the ancient Greeks and Romans from gastropod mollusks, and is now made synthetically … New Collegiate Dictionary
Tyrian purple — noun see purple … English new terms dictionary
Tyrian purple — Tyr′ian pur′ple n. 1) tex anq Also called Tyr′ian dye′. a highly prized purple dye of antiquity, an indigo derivative orig. obtained from a certain shellfish and later synthetically produced 2) a vivid, purplish red … From formal English to slang
purple of the ancients — tyrian purple 1 … Useful english dictionary
